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Robert Burton

The Anatomy of Melancholy

Name: The Anatomy of Melancholy
Author: Robert Burton

1651 English with a close modern English rendering

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The Anatomy of MelancholySubsection 4. Prognosis of Religious Melancholy.

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1651 English Page · Branch 1008 of 1495

Subsection 4. Prognosis of Religious Melancholy.

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1651 English

679

Not as thou complainest, that we do not worship your Gods, but because you are Idolaters, and do not serve the true God, neither seek him, nor fear him as you ought. Our Papists object as much to us, and account us heretiques, we them; the Turks esteem of both as Infidels, and we them as a company of Pagans, Jews against all;

When indeed there is a generall fault in us all, and something in the very best, which may justly deserve Gods wrath, and pull these miseries upon our heads. I will say nothing here of those vain cares, torments, needless works, pennance, pilgrimages, pseudomartyrdome, &c. We heap upon our selves unnecessary troubles, observations;

we punish our bodies, as in Turkie (saith Busbequius leg. Turcic. ep. 3.) one did, that was much affected with Musick, and to hear Boyes sing, but very superstitious; an old Sybil coming to his house, or an holy woman (as that place yeelds many) took him down for it, and told him, that in that other world he should suffer for it; thereupon he flung his rich and costly Instruments which he had bedeckt with Jewels, all at once into the fire.

He was served in silver plate, and had goodly houshold-stuffe: a little after, another religious man reprehended him in like sort, and from thenceforth he was served in earthen vessels. Last of all, a decree came forth, because Turks might not drink wine themselves, that neither Jew nor Christian then living in Constantinople, might drink any wine at all.

In like sort amongst Papists, fasting at first was generally proposed as a good thing; after, from such meats at set times; and then last of all so rigorously proposed, to binde the consciences upon pain of damnation. First Fryday, saith Erasmus, then Saturday, & nunc periclitatur dies Mercurii, and Wednesday now is in danger of a fast.

And for such like toyes, some so miserably afflict themselves, to despaire, and death it self, rather then offend, and think themselves good Christians in it, when as indeed they are superstitious Jews.

So saith Leonardus Fuchsius, a great Physician in his time, We are tortured in Germany with these Popish edicts, our bodies so taken down, our goods so diminished, that if God had not sent Luther, a worthy man, in time to redresse these mischiefes, we should have eaten hay with our horses before this.

As in fasting, so in all other superstitious edicts, we crucifie one another without a cause, barring our selves of many good and lawfull things, honest disports, pleasures and recreations; for wherefore did God create them but for our use? Feasts, mirth, musick, hauking, hunting, singing, dancing, &c. non tam necessitatibus nostris Deus inservit, sed in delitiis amamur, as Seneca notes, God would have it so.

And as Plato 2. de legibus gives out, Deos laboriosam hominum vitam miseratos, the gods in commiseration of humane estate sent Apollo, Bacchus, and the Muses, qui cum voluptate tripudia & saltationes nobis ducant, to be merry with mortals, to sing and dance with us.

12639.BurtonSource page 679, p: “Solitus erat oblectare se fidibus, & voce musica canentium; sed hoc omne sublatum Sybillæ cujusdam interventu, &c. Inde quicquid erat instrumentorum Symphoniacorum, auro gemmisque egregio opere distinctorum comminuit, & in ignem injecit &c.” “He used to delight in stringed instruments and the musical voices of singers; but all this was abolished through the intervention of a certain sibyl, and so on. He then broke up all his musical instruments, exquisitely decorated with gold and jewels, and threw them into the fire, and so on.”

12643.BurtonSource page 679, q: “Ob id genus observatiunculas videmus homines misere affligi, & denique mori, & sibi ipsis Christianos videri quum revera sint Judæi.” “For petty observances of this kind we see people miserably afflicted and finally dying, while they seem to themselves to be Christians, although in reality they are Jews.”

12645.BurtonSource page 679, r: “Ita in corpora nostra fortunasque decretis suis sæviit ut parum abfuerat nisi Deus Lutherum virum perpetua memoria dignissimum excitasset, quin nobis fœno mox communi cum jumentis cibo utendum fuisset.” “It so savaged our bodies and fortunes with its decrees that, had God not raised up Luther, a man most worthy of perpetual remembrance, we would very nearly have had to eat hay, sharing our food with beasts of burden.”

12647.BurtonSource page 679, s: “The Gentiles in India will eat no sensible creatures, or ought that hath bloud in it.”

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 4. Prognosis of Religious Melancholy.

p. 1008

Not, as you complain, because we do not worship your gods, but because you are idolaters and do not serve the true God, neither seeking nor fearing him as you ought. Our Catholics bring the same charge against us and call us heretics, as we do them. The Turks regard both as unbelievers, and we regard them as a crowd of pagans; the Jews oppose everyone.

Yet in truth there is a common fault in us all, and something even in the best of us that may justly deserve God’s wrath and bring these miseries down upon our heads. I will say nothing here of those futile anxieties, torments, needless works, penance, pilgrimages, false martyrdom and so on. We heap unnecessary troubles and observances upon ourselves.

We punish our bodies, as a man in Turkey did, according to Busbecq’s Turkish Embassy, Letter 3. He was very fond of music and of hearing boys sing, but very superstitious. An old sibyl, or holy woman, came to his house—the place produces many such women—rebuked him for it and told him he would suffer for it in the next world. He immediately threw all his rich and costly instruments, decorated with jewels, into the fire.

He was served from silver plate and had magnificent household furnishings. A little later another religious man rebuked him in the same way, and thereafter he was served in earthenware. Finally a decree was issued that, since the Turks themselves could not drink wine, no Jew or Christian living in Constantinople could drink any wine either.

Similarly, among Catholics fasting was first recommended in general as a good thing, then abstinence from particular foods at fixed times, and finally imposed so rigorously that it bound consciences under threat of damnation. First Friday, says Erasmus, then Saturday, and now Wednesday is in danger—Wednesday is now in danger of becoming a fast day.

Over such trifles some afflict themselves so miserably that they fall into despair and even death rather than transgress, thinking themselves good Christians in doing so, when in fact they are superstitious Jews.

So says Leonhard Fuchs, a distinguished physician of his time: We are tortured in Germany by these papal decrees; our bodies are so weakened and our possessions so reduced that, if God had not sent that worthy man Luther in time to remedy these evils, we would by now have been eating hay with our horses.

In fasting and in every other superstitious ordinance, we torment one another without cause, depriving ourselves of many good and lawful things, innocent sports, pleasures and recreations. Why did God create them, if not for our use? Feasts, merriment, music, hawking, hunting, singing, dancing and so on: God does not merely provide for our necessities; we are lovingly supplied with delights, as Seneca observes. God intended it so.

And as Plato says in book 2 of the Laws, the gods took pity on humanity’s toilsome life. In compassion for the human condition, the gods sent Apollo, Bacchus and the Muses, to lead us in joyful dances, to make merry with mortals, to sing and dance with us.

12637.The opening is Burton’s own English restatement of the preceding Latin, preserved as a separate part of his text. Turks functions as his broad designation for Muslims. The reciprocal labels are evidence of the polemical exchange he describes, not equivalent theological definitions.

12638.The admission of shared fault qualifies the preceding exchange of accusations. Observations means observances. Pseudomartyrdom describes suffering that Burton denies the religious value claimed for it.

12640.In the consulted Busbecq text this episode occurs in Turkish Letter 4, and the man is Sultan Suleiman, called Solyman there. Burton leaves him unnamed and cites Letter 3. Sibyl means a prophetic woman. His compressed narrative is retained rather than silently harmonized with Busbecq.

12641.Busbecq describes the abandonment of silver plate and a prohibition on importing wine into Constantinople; he then recounts obtaining a limited import exemption for ambassadors. Burton turns this into an unqualified prohibition on drinking. The difference matters to the example’s apparent severity.

12642.Meats means foods, not only flesh. The day of Mercury is Wednesday. The Latin translation and Burton’s explanatory English are both kept. The precise Erasmus passage remains to be located.

12644.The anti-Jewish comparison is Burton’s inherited Christian polemical language: it equates external or excessive observance with Judaism. It is preserved as part of the historical text, not accepted as a neutral description of Jewish religious life.

12646.Fuchsius is the Latinized name of Leonhard Fuchs. The marginal Latin praises Luther in stronger terms than the body’s worthy man. Burton supplies no work or chapter for this passage, which remains for collation.

12648.Seneca, On Benefits 4.5, argues that divine gifts provide pleasure as well as necessity. The margin on Indian abstinence is anchored here in the scan but anticipates the next page’s examples. Sensible creatures means creatures capable of sensation; the sweeping generalization is Burton’s.

12649.Laws 2.653c–654a describes festivals and divine companions as relief from human toil. Burton interweaves Latin paraphrase and English explanation; both are retained. Bacchus is Dionysus, the name used in Plato.

About This Reading Edition

Robert Burton’s Anatomy ranges across medicine, philosophy, poetry, religion, and everyday life in its inquiry into melancholy. This complete parallel edition pairs the 1651 English text with a close modern English rendering, preserving the three Partitions, Democritus Junior’s address to the reader, verse, and the historical index.

Historical Text and Translation

The historical text follows the sixth edition, printed at Oxford for Henry Cripps in 1651, using the McGill University Library copy. The supplied edition documents missing printed pages 98–99 supplied from another 1651 copy at the Bavarian State Library. Historical folio labels and their irregularities remain visible; web reader numbers identify reflowed passages and do not claim to reproduce PDF pagination.

About Diotimos Editions

Diotimos Editions prepared the close modern English rendering and editorial matter. All 8,755 original and modern passage pairs remain aligned, with verse breaks, italics, continuations, and linked annotations preserved. Burton’s 6,781 historical notes retain their attribution; 6,895 editorial notes remain distinct. The introduction, Note on the Text, contextual lexicon, indexes, source documentation, and bibliography are included. The engraved frontispiece remains available in the original downloads.

Rights

Burton’s historical text is in the public domain. The modern English rendering, introduction, notes, and editorial matter are © 2026 Diotimos Editions and appear with the site owner’s permission. The complete supplied PDF, EPUB, Word, and Markdown files remain available unchanged. The PDF and Word edition preserve the original parallel page layout.